“The offender said, ‘I hate white people’ and threw a punch,” Van Harten told those gathered in the court during his ruling. “There is no evidence either way about what the offender meant or whether . . . she holds or promotes an ideology which would explain why this assault was aimed at this victim. I am not satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that this offense was, even in part, motivated by racial bias.”

The Calgary Herald reported that the attack happened suddenly and without warning.

White was standing outside the pub talking to another person when Crowchief walked up and yelled “I hate white people” before punching White in the face, the paper reported. After the assault, Crowchief left the scene, but White followed her and called police.

When authorities arrived and arrested Crowchief, she told them “the white man was out to get her,” the paper reported.

At a recent court hearing, White said she's still baffled by the assault.

“I still get angry when I think about it,” she said. “I don’t understand why this woman did this. I never did anything to her. Never even spoke to her.”

By the time of her sentencing, Crowchief had already spent more than six months in jail, according to the Calgary Herald.

"There is no evidence either way about what the offender meant or whether . . . she holds or promotes an ideology which would explain why this assault was aimed at this victim."

Uh, no. She shouted "I hate white people", which means she hates white people. It doesn't matter what other ideology she holds, if any. As for an explanation of why this assault was aimed at this victim, the accused has already provided that, along with an acknowledgement that it was, indeed, a hate crime.

And this, people, is why Neo-Nazis get the traction they do in talking about hate crime laws. It really genuinely is easier to convince judges and juries that anything with just a tiny hint of racial, sexual, or religious overtones is a hate crime if the perpetrator is a white Christian man. It pains me so much to say this, but damn it, it's actually true. And just think, she's in Canada, so she'd be getting off light with a hate crime enhancement to get 12 to 15 months. In the United States, hate crime enhancement can get you at least an additional 5 years for misdemeanors and minor felonies. Not sure how it applies to major felonies, if it's still 5 years or more for higher degree crimes.

On the one hand this is clearly a hatecrime. On the other hand I can't fault the judge too much here. 6 months in jail, a year of probation and mandatory counselling will probably do this clearly unwell woman some good.

Assuming this is her first offense, and no one was permanently injured I can see why the judge wouldn't rule it a hate crime. Hate crimes tend to carry minimum sentences, and Canadians tend to prefer more lenient sentences.